Many poor folks in the world haven't yet found the real meaning of Christmas. So many people are lost, lonely, downtrodden, weak and weary. Some are weak in their bodies, weary in their flesh; others are weak in their minds; and yet others are weak in body, mind and spirit. There are the trampled-on, the poor, the persecuted, the hungry; those who are victims of war and crime and exploitation; those who nobody wants and for whom nobody cares; those who have so little in the way of worldly goods, who are lacking in food, clothing and shelter -- even the basic necessities.

There are others who do have material goods and riches. They can extend hands to those who are found wanting; those who have ache inside; those who are engulfed in a sea of emptiness. We can spread a little more love and light and cheer!
"Lift up your fellow man, lend him a helping hand. Put a little love in your heart."

Many poor folks in the world haven't yet found the real meaning of Christmas. So many people are lost, lonely, downtrodden, weak and weary. Some are weak in their bodies, weary in their flesh; others are weak in their minds; and yet others are weak in body, mind and spirit. There are the trampled-on, the poor, the persecuted, the hungry; those who are victims of war and crime and exploitation; those who nobody wants and for whom nobody cares; those who have so little in the way of worldly goods, who are lacking in food, clothing and shelter -- even the basic necessities.

There are others who do have material goods and riches. They can extend hands to those who are found wanting; those who have ache inside; those who are engulfed in a sea of emptiness. We can spread a little more love and light and cheer!

Friday, December 21, 2012

British soldiers were spending Christmas Eve 1914 on a French battlefield during World War I. After four months of fighting, over a million men had perished in the bloody conflict. The bodies of dead soldiers were scattered between the trenches of the opposing armies. It was in the middle of a freezing battlefield in France, that a miracle occurred! British troops watched in amazement as candle-lit trees appeared above the German trenches. “From the German parapet, a rich baritone voice had begun to sing a song I remember my German nurse singing to me ... the grave and tender voice rose out of the frozen mist. It was all so strange ... like being in another world,” a young British soldier wrote in his diary. “Silent Night, Holy Night. All is calm. All is bright.”

When the German soldiers finished singing, the British decided to retaliate. Rather than retaliate with the roar of a cannon, the army chaps from England sang, “The first noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay ...” When the boys from jolly old England finished, “Born is the King of Israel!”, the enemy began clapping and struck up a rousing rendition of “Oh Tannebaum!” When the British troops began singing, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful!”, it was at that moment that the Germans immediately joined in. They were singing with the enemy. This was the most extraordinary event taking place in the middle of a blood-drenched battlefield! Two opposing nations were singing the same Christmas Carol in the middle of a fierce war. It is recorded that enemy soldiers greeted each other in the no-man's-land that just minutes before had been a killing zone. Soldiers wished one another a Merry Christmas and agreed not to fire their rifles on Christmas Day.

British soldiers were spending Christmas Eve 1914 on a French battlefield during World War I. After four months of fighting, over a million men had perished in the bloody conflict. The bodies of dead soldiers were scattered between the trenches of the opposing armies. It was in the middle of a freezing battlefield in France, that a miracle occurred! British troops watched in amazement as candle-lit trees appeared above the German trenches. “From the German parapet, a rich baritone voice had begun to sing a song I remember my German nurse singing to me ... the grave and tender voice rose out of the frozen mist. It was all so strange ... like being in another world,” a young British soldier wrote in his diary. “Silent Night, Holy Night. All is calm. All is bright.”

When the German soldiers finished singing, the British decided to retaliate. Rather than retaliate with the roar of a cannon, the army chaps from England sang, “The first noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay ...” When the boys from jolly old England finished, “Born is the King of Israel!”, the enemy began clapping and struck up a rousing rendition of “Oh Tannebaum!” When the British troops began singing, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful!”, it was at that moment that the Germans immediately joined in. They were singing with the enemy. This was the most extraordinary event taking place in the middle of a blood-drenched battlefield! Two opposing nations were singing the same Christmas Carol in the middle of a fierce war. It is recorded that enemy soldiers greeted each other in the no-man's-land that just minutes before had been a killing zone. Soldiers wished one another a Merry Christmas and agreed not to fire their rifles on Christmas Day.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, that was based on the short story "The Greatest Gift", written by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1939, and privately published by the author in 1945.

This is director Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American small town of Bedford Falls.

A desperate George appeals to Potter for a loan. Potter mockingly and coldly turns George down, and then swears out a warrant for his arrest for bank fraud. A flood of townspeople arrive with more than enough donations to save George and the Building and Loan.

This is the most wonderful life in the world-- thankfulness and being content. It's full of lessons on fighting, on perseverance, on pouring time into others, on inspiring confidence, not giving up, on following your dreams, on bitterness and forgiveness, on trust and faith and love. It is a sweet, touching story of the struggles in life and brings out the need to fight to rise above your circumstances.

Friday, December 07, 2012

On July 16, 1945, the United States of America detonated the first atomic bomb in the barren desert of New Mexico. Less than a month after this first explosion, the U.S. dropped two atom bombs on the heavily populated cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. This first usage of the horror bomb indiscriminately wiped out over 100,000 civilian woman, children and old people--and condemned many others to a very slow and painful death.

Contrary to what's taught in schools across the country, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were militarily unnecessary and morally indefensible. That's the origin myths of this. Every school kid is still learning this: We dropped the bomb because we had to, because the Japanese resistance was fanatic, and we would have lost many American lives taking Japan. This is one there's no alternative to that story. The bomb did not have to be dropped for strategic reasons and also because it was morally reprehensible. But strategically, it made no sense.

It made no sense because the Japanese were already defeated. The Japanese emperor asking for peace. It was not the bombing. Generations of Americans have been taught that the United States reluctantly dropped atomic bombs at the end of World War II to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of young men poised to die in an invasion of Japan. Many Americans view World War II nostalgically as the "Good" War in which the United States. By the time it was over, 60 to 65 million people lay dead, including an estimated 27 million Soviets.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

On July 16, 1945, the United States of America detonated the first atomic bomb in the barren desert of New Mexico. Less than a month after this first explosion, the U.S. dropped two atom bombs on the heavily populated cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, respectively. This first usage of the horror bomb indiscriminately wiped out over 100,000 civilian woman, children and old people--and condemned many others to a very slow and painful death.

Contrary to what’s taught in schools across the country, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were militarily unnecessary and morally indefensible. That’s the origin myths of this. Every school kid , is still learning this: We dropped the bomb because we had to, because the Japanese resistance was fanatic, and we would have lost many American lives taking Japan. This is one—there’s no alternative to that story. The bomb did not have to be dropped for strategic reasons and also because it was morally reprehensible. But strategically, it made no sense.

It made no sense because the Japanese were already defeated. The Japanese emperor asking for peace. It was not the bombing. Generations of Americans have been taught that the United States reluctantly dropped atomic bombs at the end of World War II to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of young men poised to die in an invasion of Japan. Many Americans view World War II nostalgically as the "Good" War in which the United States. By the time it was over, 60 to 65 million people lay dead, including an estimated 27 million Soviets.

feeds.mercurynews.com – Mon, Nov 26, 2012
Tsunami of greed
Dear Editor: Drawn by aggressive discounts and earlier-than-ever opening hours, shoppers opened their wallets on "Black Friday" weekend in record numbers and handed retailers a promising start to the holiday season. Merchants raked in an estimated $59.1 billion in sales from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, up from $52.4 billion a year earlier, as millions flocked to stores and browsed online, according to the National Retail Federation. Spending per shopper jumped 6 percent to $423.The true purpose behind having a holiday called Thanksgiving is being totally obliterated by a tsunami of greed. Meanwhile, more Americans than ever are living in poverty this year and very few people even seem to notice. However, perhaps we should all take time this week to remember the tens of millions of Americans who are going to be deeply suffering this winter. They keep telling us that "the recession is over" and yet poverty continues to spread like an out of control plague. But for most Americans life is still relatively normal, and so the horrible suffering going on out there doesn't really affect them.
Ted Rudow III,Palo Alto

Drawn by aggressive discounts and earlier-than-ever opening hours, shoppers opened their wallets on Black Friday weekend in record numbers and handed retailers a promising start to the holiday season. Merchants raked in an estimated $59.1 billion in sales from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, up from $52.4 billion a year earlier, as millions flocked to stores and browsed online, according to the National Retail Federation. Spending per shopper jumped 6% to $423.

The true purpose behind having a holiday called "Thanksgiving" is being totally obliterated by a tsunami of greed. Meanwhile, more Americans than ever are living in poverty this year and very few people even seem to notice. However, perhaps we should all take time this week to remember the tens of millions of Americans that are going to be deeply suffering this winter. They keep telling us that "the recession is over" and yet poverty continues to spread like an out of control plague. But for most Americans life is still relatively "normal", and so the horrible suffering going on out there doesn't really affect them.

Dear Editor: Drawn by aggressive discounts and earlier-than-ever opening hours, shoppers opened their wallets on "Black Friday" weekend in record numbers and handed retailers a promising start to the holiday season. Merchants raked in an estimated $59.1 billion in sales from Thanksgiving Day through Sunday, up from $52.4 billion a year earlier, as millions flocked to stores and browsed online, according to the National Retail Federation. Spending per shopper jumped 6 percent to $423.

The true purpose behind having a holiday called Thanksgiving is being totally obliterated by a tsunami of greed. Meanwhile, more Americans than ever are living in poverty this year and very few people even seem to notice. However, perhaps we should all take time this week to remember the tens of millions of Americans who are going to be deeply suffering this winter. They keep telling us that "the recession is over" and yet poverty continues to spread like an out-of-control plague. But for most Americans, life is still relatively normal, and so the horrible suffering going on out there doesn't really affect them.